Drain-valve



C. W. NEWCOMBE.

DRAIN VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I4, |917.

Patented J uly 22, 1919.

CHARLES W. NEWCOMBE, 0F TACOMA, WASHIGTON.

Cit.

DRAIN-VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .l uly 22, 1919.

Application tiled May 14, 1917. Serial No. 168,356.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. NawcoMBE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tacoma, in the county of Pierce, State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drain- Valves, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to valves adapted to automatically release condensed Water from the pipes draining the cyllnder and. steam chest of a steam engine. T he object of my invention is to provide an lmproved structure whereby the parts screwing together to make the complete v alve caslng are not pierced byl any `communicating passages whicli would otherwise necessitate the screw-threaded parts to be very carefully made so that the several parts would be interchangeable when made in large quantities.

I attain this object, together with other objects, by the devices, mechanisms, and .arrangements illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of my im'- proved valve;

Fig. 2 is a frontelevation thereof;

Fig.- 3 is a vertical section thereof;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a portion thereof, a part of the valve having been removed, and indicated by a dotted line, to show the ports;

Fig. 5` is a vertical section of theinner casing or plug;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the main or outer casing; and

. Fig. 7 lis an elevation of the valve.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the device consists of an outer casing; a plug or inner casing; a valve; a spring; and suitable passages and ports.

The outer, or main, casing consists of a hollow cylindrical body 1, having a screwthreaded cavity which is open at one end but'i's closedby a valve-surface or face 2 at the other end, in which face 2 are formed the two low-pressure valve ports 3 and the central outlet passage or port 4. The outer on the interior of the cylindrical part 1. The upper portion of the outlet passage or port 4 is enlar ed to form a spring Well 8, having' a shoul er at its lower end Whereon the lower end of the spring 9 rests (Fig. 3). A drain pipe screws into a socket 10 formed on the end of the central boss in which the said passage 4 is formed. A flat valve 11 rests on the face 2 and covers the ports 3 and 4 and prevents the two passages 3 from communicating with each other or with the outlet 4. The valve 11 is provided with a central guide shank 12 fitting in the part 4 of the outlet passage but provided Awith four grooves therein whereby free passage is provided through the part 4 at all times. The shank 12 moves freely in the part 4. he spring 9 is wound around the shank 12, within the well 8 and presses upward on the lower surface of the valve 11.

A closure -or plug 13 screws into, or is otherwise secured to, the cylinder 1 to close its open end and may be provided with a cylindrical cavity 14, open at its lower end andy of larger diameter than the valve 11.

The cavity in the closure 13 is provided with stops 15 near its upper end, whereby the valve 11 is prevented from passing up -to the top thereof under the action of the spring 9. The closure 13 is provided with a high-pressure socket 16 adapted to receive the high pressure pipe 17 leading from the steam chest.

Thus it will be seen that my device consists of a main casing in which are integrally formed the sockets 5 and 10 and the passages 7 and 4 leading to the ports in the surface 2, said surface forming the lower termination of a cylindrical cavity 1 having `imperforate walls; a separate closure or plug 13 closing the open end of said cylindrical cavity; a valve 11 fitting said surface 2 but not touching the walls of the cavity; a spring 9 pushing said valve away from the surface 2 when the pressure above the valve ,is insuiiicient to hold it down against the action of the spring and of the pressure in the ports 3; and pipes 6 and 17 leading to the cylinder ends and to the steam chest respectively. It will be further seen that since the parts 1 and 13 have imperforate thread# ed engaging portions it is not necessary to arrange the screw threads so that, in all similar valves, they will both begin and end at corresponding positions relative to the low-pressure ports.

My drain valve operatesv as follow'sze- When the engine is not in use, the pressure is removed from the pipe 17 and from the upper side of the valve 11, which therefore and-out by the drain passage' 4; also thesteam in the cylinder will condense and pass out by the pipes 6, through the passages 7 and ports 3,. and out by the drain passage 4. When steam is turned on the engine, the pressure thereof closes the valve 11 and prevents intercommunication between the ends of the cylinder and between the pipes 6 and 17, as Well as between the drain passage 4 and all the said pipes. If water collects in the cylinder ends it is drained through the pipes 6 and when the pressure thereon is suiiicient, it raises the valve 11 and allows the Water to escape through the drain passage 4.

It is evident that various changes may be made in the details of construction of this valve Without departing from the spirit of my invention, for instance: The cylindrical cavity in the main casing need not be screwthreaded and the closure need not extend down into the cavity, but the closure may be a plate or cap, secured by studs to the main casing, and not extending into the cavity 'at all, in which case the said cavity could bea little smaller in diameter. This form is not illustrated as it is understood to be simply a variation in the method of attaching the closure to the casing. Also there may be more than the two connections to llnder ends, as shown, if desired.

described'my invention, ywhat 'I claim is: l

A drain valve,v including a casing having a substantially cylindrical head, provided with an interiorly threaded open top valve chamber, and having at opposite sides thereof tubular extensions adapted to receive pipe connections, said casing being provided at the bottom of the valve chamber with acentral outlet and having side passages extending from the tubular extensions to the bottom of the valve chamber, and provided at their inner ends with enlarged terminals arranged concentric with the saidoutlet and extending nearly around the same and constituting 10W pressure ports, a valve body operating Within the valve chamber and covering, when closed, both the outlet and the enlarged terminals of the' side passages, a substantially cylindrical closure threaded into the valve chamber and provided at the top with a high pressure inlet and having interior lugs to space the valve body from the high pressure inlet, said closure being removable to afford access to the valve body without disturbing the pipe connections of the tubular extensions, and a spring for urging the valve body in opposition to the high pressure within the valve chamber, said valve body when raised by the spring establishing communication of the outlet with both the low pressure ports and the high pressure inlet.

CHARLES W. NEWCOMBE. 

